Abbey bells ring for royal anniversary

Abbey bells ring for royal anniversary

Westminster Abbey will mark the 70th wedding anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh on Monday 20th November.

The Abbey's bell ringers will ring a full peal - starting at 1.00pm and expected to last 3 hours and 20 minutes - to mark the milestone. The peal will consist of 5070 changes of Stedman Caters, with the 70 a tribute to the platinum anniversary.

It is an historic tradition that the Abbey's bells are rung for significant royal occasions.

The Queen - then Princess Elizabeth - and Prince Philip married in Westminster Abbey on 20th November 1947. It was an occasion of national rejoicing after years of war. The wedding dress was designed by Norman Hartnell and made of ivory silk decorated with 10,000 hand-embroidered pearls. The day after the wedding, Princess Elizabeth followed a royal tradition started by her mother of sending her wedding bouquet back to the Abbey to be laid on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.